Ruby de Luna

Reporter

Year started with KUOW: 1994

Ruby de Luna is a features reporter at KUOW. She had originally planned to go into TV, but ditched the idea after discovering public radio. Ruby has reported on immigrant communities. She currently covers health care issues.

Ruby is a transplant from Taipei, Taiwan. She holds a BA in communication from Seattle Pacific University.

In the age of computer/digital audio editing, Ruby is proud to be one of the few old–schoolers who can still edit tape with a razor blade. In her free time she practices her knife skills on new recipes.

It’s been more than a month since a task force was formed to address King County’s heroin epidemic.

One solution that’s under discussion is creating a safe site for people to use drugs under medical supervision. The idea is unconventional and controversial, but supporters like Patricia Sully say previous approaches haven’t worked.

We all know that cancer screenings are important, but it doesn’t mean they always get done. For some Latina women, a conversation with a peer can nudge them to action.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Latina women. Dr. Gloria Coronado, epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Oregon, said that’s because Latinas are likely to be diagnosed when the disease is already advanced.

Vice President Joe Biden urged scientists to collaborate to help speed up the process to cure cancer. Biden was in Seattle Monday. He toured a lab at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, then held a roundtable discussion with scientists.

There’s homemade bread being passed around, and some handouts related to today’s discussion. The people in this group are mostly over age 65. Some are widowed, some are divorced, and some have never married. All live alone.

In the future, mental health professionals may not be the only people spreading the word about suicide prevention.

The message could also come from people you’d least likely expect to be front-line educators on suicide awareness: pharmacists, firearm dealers, shooting range operators, and even Fish and Wildlife staff.